Twin band-saw mill.



TWIN' BANDSAW MILL. Y AAPPLIOATIQN FILED Mum, 1903.v nmmwm'mf 1s, 190e.-

AMEREEN uitI E. GAGNON.

v TWIN BAND SAW MILL; Y APPLIUATION FILED MAY 1g, 1903. BEN-WED MAY'la, 190e. 900,677.

Patented oct.v6,19o 8.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

www

HJIIIIr/rifi w J N M A. HEBBEN & A. E. GAGNQN. l u TWIN BAND SAW MILL. VA.lfPLflolaTInN FILED Mule, 1903. RBNEWED MAY 1a, 1906.

900,67'7.V Patented 001.6, 190s.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3;

; l (n w in" HUH-M. ...lu-

A MENEN E Alfy. @www TWIN BAND sAWmL'L.

A APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1903. RBNEW'YEDJI'IAY 18,4 `19013. l v s??? patents@ @eik 5, Z998.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

A. MEREEN.,&`A. E.. GAGNON.

y TWIN BAND SAW MILL. K APPLICATION FILED-MAY 1s, 1903. ARHNEWHD MAY 1a, 1906.

Patented Get. 6, 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

A., MEEEEQ" @s RGGNON.

I TWIN' BAND SAW 1531.1.v Ammmnzon PILnD-HAY 1s, 1903. RBNBWBD MAY I13,'19013.

g/-y of Figi T, showing' the "UNITED srnrns PATENT ornion.

ANO'MEREEN AND ANDREW E. GAGNON,

or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, itssionons" OF-ONE-HALF TO C. A. SMITH LUMBER CO., OF MINNEAPOLIS, lklINNESOllA, A CORPO- rt-ATION.

TWIN BAND-SAW MILL.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oci.. e,v roos.

Application filed May 18, 190B, Serial No. 157,549. lltenewed May 18, 1906. Serial No. 317,592.

To. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARNO MEREN and nANDREW E. G.\GNoN, of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented certain non( and useful 1inproveniente in Twin Band-Saw liills, of which the following is a specification.

The object vof our invention is to provide means for` simultaneously removing a slab from each side of ra log, to iiialefcants of those logs,\vhich, owingv to their small size, cannot be conveniently and economically handled on the steam opei'ated 'arriage of an oi'dinaryn'band mill.

Other objects of the invention ivill appear from the following detailed description.`

The invention consists generally in inea'ns for feeding` the logs between' the saws.

Fiirthei', the invention consists in means for holding1 the logs securely during the op eration of 'removing the slabs.

.Fiirtheig the invention consistsvin means for centering` the logs on the feeding means. Farther, the invention consists in means for adjusting the saws toward or from each other, according to the diameter of the log to be slahhed. p i p Further, the invention consists in "arioiis constructions and combinations, all as hereiiiaftei' described and particularly pointed ont inthe claims.

ln the accompanying; drawings ftii'ining' part of this specification, Figure 1 'is a side elevation of a tivin band saw mill embodyinnl oiii.' invention. ltigg 2 is a horizontal section, substantially on the line u-a of Fig. Cil is a vertical. section, substantially on the line .r-,.r tif'Fig. 2. Figi". lt is .a vertical section oiithe line v -a lof Fig.

:3. Fig. Cristi verti-al section on the line 'ay in its nfirnial. position.l lilig. (5. is a siinilai: view, shoi'viiie' the log' way raised in the act of centering' the log. Figi'. T is a side elevation of the ontei' log n'a'v, showing' the means for tilting' the same. Fig'. t5' is a seotion on the line /I--n of Fig. 3. Figi a detail of the feed chain and the sprocket. 'Fin'. l0 a section on the line fm---iii of Fig'. El. his'. il is a section on the. line of Fig. l..

o-o `of Fig. 12.

In the drawings, 2 represents a suitable horizontal base or bed, ivhci'eon the stand log centering Fig'. 'l2 is a side view of one. vof the feed wheels. Fig. 13 isla section on the linel -ards 3---3, supporting the band Wheels, lare slidablyarranged. These' standards have hand wheels 5 5, and said shafts are pro'- Xided with driven pulleys AG--CL,operated from a suitable source of poivei'; At theiry upper ends, the standards S-f' have 'bear-y ings for t1 wheels SWS. Band s'aivs 9-9 are provided Voiithe saidloiver and iipper Wheels, respecf y tively,a space being provided betivee'njthein through ivhicli the log isfed, as will hereinafter appear.

In removing` the slabs from logs of ditferf ent size, it is desirable to provide ineaiis for moving the saivs nearer together, or separating them, and we therefore provide a shaftl said shaftltbctiveen said pulleys. A ii'v snitvv able incans ma)y be provided for operating` the cliitch 2O,` biit \ve prefer to provide an aniiiilar Ifroowe 2l therein. to receive a fork i2 on the end of a pivoted ai'in Qltliat is connected 'between its pivotaiid said fork to the.

ne shafts 7-7 of the upper band` operating lever l-l bv means of a. link 25.

'lhe piillei's 1T and 1S are connected bybeltfs (not slionnlwith a suitable soiii'ce of iowei' and are driven iii opposite directions. and.

the operation of the friction cliitcli'lnillI yset the shafts l() and lo iii motion to move, the. sans toi'vard or aivav from each'ot'lileijaccordintl to the direction in which they operathisI lever is ii'ioved.`

.ln this machine ive band saivs so that they can be adiiistedfroin foar to twelve inches apart, according' to the size of thelog' from ivhich `the slabs are to be removed` and to enable the oi'ieratoi' to determine 'the distance tli'e saivs have lbeen moved with each adjiist'ineiitQn-'e prefer to provide a scale 2l on lone of the standards, said scale being' ,Qradiiated to represent inches from ioiii' to twelve. A pointer Q4 have arranged the I l horizontally bers 31, by pivot bolts 32.

40 said eye beam 26.

5 the standard to which the scale is secured.

llVhen, therefore, the operator moves the friction clutch to vadjust the standards and the band saws, the pointer will move over the scale a distance corresponding to the move- 10 ment of the standard to which it is connected. It is only necessary, therefore, for the operator to glance at the scale to determine the distance the saws have been moved.

lBetween the band saws is an eye beam 26, supported by braces 27 upon a iioorQS. Brackets 29 are bolted to the braces 27, andvstraps 30, also bolted to said braces, extend 'up outside the said brackets and are secured thereto and to the outer ends of tim- The timbers 3l have beveled inner faces 33', forming a V- shaped log way, wherein the logs are advanced between the saws, and theinner ends of said timbers are vertically movable between guides 34 that are bolted to the eye beam. 26.- The timbers 31 are spaced from each other, and between them a feed chain is adapted tooperate, sliding` over the upper 'iange of the eye beam 9.6. This feed chain is composed, preferably, of a series of steel lblocks 35, provided in their upper faces with pairs of wedge shaped pins 3G, the edges of saidpins running lengthwise of the grain of the wood in the logs, and adapted to dig into 35 the logs and feed them forward past the saws. The blocks are connected on each side by plates 37, which are adapted to fit the space; t weon the teeth of the sprocket Wheels 38m o. provided at each end of These sprocket wheels are mounted in `bearings 39, that are adjustable in boxes 40 by means of set screws 41, and said vboxesy are preferably arranged in castings 42 that we prefer to form integrally 45 with the upper ends of the braces 2'?, though they xmay be made independently thereof, if preferred. rlhe adjustment of these sprocket wheelsy will tighten or loosen the sprocket ,chaim as may be desired, and enable the opy erator to take up the wear of the links. The

sprocket 38 is connected with a shaft-3f), havinga sprocket 40, over which a driven chain41 passes. To tilt the timbers l31, we l prefer: to provide arms 43,- connected at their vupper ends to said timbers, and pivotally connected at their lower ends to an arm 44 on a shaft 45 that is provided with a foot operated lever 46. By depressing the said lever 46, the operator can raise the inner ends of the timbers 3l and raise the log af suflicient distance above the sprocket chain, so that when it falls, it will center itself on 'the chain, and the teeth or pins will dig into the wood.

By beveling the up per portion of the oppositely disposed faces of thc timbers and providing in some way for movement of said timbers to different planes, the bevclcd faces of the timbers will be caused to act lengthwise and transversely of thc bevcfL upon thc cantor log so as to properly center it upon the carrier between the two timbers. From an inspection of Fig. 5 of the drawing it will be observed that the timbers in their normal position for receiving thc log are lowered or depressed and that the space between the teeth of the carrier and the beveled sides of the timbers on a transverse line is grcalcr than the space between the teeth and thc sides of the timbers when the timbers have been raised or -the log centered as shown in Fig. In other words in the operation of centering the log the tinlbcrs are moved so as to lessen the space between them and the carrier teeth, the result being that in centering the log the beveled sides in the movcA ment of the timbers push the log inwm'dly. or centrally from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. (i of the drawing. The timbers consequently have a lifting or pushing action in centering the log as distinguished from a mere downward sliding movementof the log in a way with inclined slides.

From an examination of Fig. 4. it will bc noted that the V-shaped log way is arranged midway between the band saws. and that the sprocket chain travels along in thc bottom of the log way in the center of the space between said saws. The log having been centered on the feed chain, will be fed forward past the saws, and to prevent any possibility of movement of the log on thc chain after it is engaged by the saws, we provide feed wheels 47 and 4S on opposite sides of the saws and directly above the feed chain. The wheel 47 is provided in its periphery with a series of wedge shaped pins 4S), whose ulges extend lengthwise of the grain of thc wood in the logs, and are forced therein by the weight Iof the whccl and ils hinged support, to hold thc log firmly in place on lhc chain while it is passing the saws. 'Ihc wheel 47 is mounted in bearings in the lower end of a frame 50, ythat is suspended at its upper end on a pivot 51, and is supported alV an angle of about 45 degrees by a chain 59 that is connected to a coil spring 53 secured to a timber 54.4 On the opposite side of thc saws, the wheel 48 is arranged in position to engage the log as soon as its forward end passes the saws, and the said wheel 4S is preferably mounted. in bearings in a plate 55 that is slidable in guides 5G, mounted on timbers 57 that are inclined in an opposite direction from the inclination of the frame 50, and at about the same angle. The wheels 47 and 48 and their supports are quite heavily constructed,l and bear upon the logs with considerable pressure and hold them rmly in place on the feed chain during the' operationof removing the slabs. The plate 55 is preferably connected at its upper end' to a chain 58 that serves to limit ,the down1 ward movement ofsaid plate;-

Near thereeeiving side of the feed chain, we prefer 'to' providea logcentermg device, consisting of timbers 59,p1voted'at their inner ends upon standards 60, and vertically movable at their outer ends between guides 61. The standards G0 and the guides '61 are supported' upon horizontal timbers 62, resting upon a suitable framework 68, and be-v tween Athesaid timbers 62, and forming the ber 64, ,provided on its topl surface with .a

channel bar 65,` This channel bar fills the space between 4thettimbers 69 and' formsthe .bottom of the log way, and within said channel bar, a sprocket chain GG, provided with teeth 67, is adapted to slide, said chain passing over a sprocket wheel 68 mounted in bearings in the timbers 62 near their in- 'ner ends and over a similar sprocket provided at theouter end-of a stationary log Way 69,-to which the logs are delivered-to be fed into the mill.. The log way 69, the

iouter portion of the sprocket ehainGG, and

are all of ordinary construction, and we the ignanner of supporting it in said log way, mal e no claims to the same herein, nor have we thought .it necessary to illustratey the same in detail. 1 y l l To tilt the outer ends of they timbers 59,

we provide arms 70, pivotally,` connected at their upper ends to said timbers anddependv ing betweengthe timbers 62 and pivotally 40-' connected to a link 71, which at its lower end isipivoted to a bar 72 at a point intermediate to its ends. The bar '72'at one end is pivotally supported on a bracket 73, securedto the' frame 63, and at its .other end is contrefadle 8O -at its free end, by means of which the operator can open the valve, admitsteam tothe cylinder 75 and tilt the free end of the log way. A. spring; 81V normally holds vthe valve 7G iu its closed'position.

bottom of the log way, is a stationary tim-y In Fins. i

5 and (l, two positions of the tilting log` way' are shown. lIn Fig. 5, the' log fay'is in its .normally depressed position, and the log coming in from vthe logway GS) is shown at one side of the'way. As soon,- however, as the timbers 59 are tilted on their-pivotm as shown in Fig. (i, the log will seek a middle `position between them, directly above the as soon as the .timbers are feed chain, and

vscour??- i 's allowed to drop back to theirnormal position, the log will fall upon the teeth 67 and be fed forward toward the chain that passes between the. band saws.'

The following is a brief description of the operation of our improved twin band saw mill:,The saws haring been set in motion, the feed chain forvbring'ing the 'logs into the middle is startechfand the logs are delivered to the outer log` way, the operator will Iraise and lower the free end of said way,l

joltime' the log up and down therein until it centers itself on the feed chain. The log then moves forward until itis engaged b v` the chain that passes between the saws, and

the operator then centers the log on this chain by raising and lowering the free end of the inner log way. By the time the inner vend of the log reaches the toothed bearing wheel, it will have been properly centered on the-feed chain, and as soon as the bearing wheel comes in contact with the upper surface of the log, its teeth will dig therein and force the teeth of the feed chain intov thev underside of the log, which will be held lirmly, and carried for Yard to the saws. These having' been properly adjusted, according to the diameter of the log, the slabs will-be removed from-each side of the log as it passes between the saws, the bearing wheel traveling` along on the top of the log and. holding it firmly in place; As soon as the end of thelog emerges on the discharge side of the saws, it will engage the bearing wheel on that side, raise the same and be held firmly by said wheel against lateral movementuntil the slabs have been removed. The cant will then be discharged from between the feed chain and the bearing wheel on the discharge side of the saws, and the machine is then ready to receive' another log. ln p actice the logs follow one :mother closely, so that, as soon as the saws leave the rear. end of one. log, they will enter the forward end of the succeeding log. The operal tion,l therefore, of removingthc slabs is praetic'al'l-y continuous, and a large number of small logs can be converted into-cams 1u a comparatively short space'of time.

i le claim as our invention.

1. The combination with a raw, of a feed chain operating` to feed a log to thesaw, means for centering the log on the chain. said means comprising oppositely disposed members having faces to engage the log tangentially at an angle to its line of movement, said members being supported so as to be capable of movement towards the chain to center the log thereon and to recede therefrom into non-holding position after the log centered, and means for actuating said members, substantially as described.

'2'. Theleombination withva saw, of a feed chainoperatiug to feed ajlog tothe saw,

.means for 'centerinothe logon said chain, .sani means compr 10 oppositely disposed.

members haring the upper portion thereof` formed with oppositely,disposed beveled faces, and supported so as to be capable of movement towards the chain to center the.

log thereon. and 'to recede therefrom into non-holding position after the log is centered, and means for actuating said members to `cause them to lift or push the log centrally between the members by contact ofthe-beveled faces of the members with fthe log to center the'log on the chain, sub-v stantially as described7 v3. ylhe combination, in a twin saw mill, of aflog way, .a feed chain operating in. said waybetween the twin saws, means for holding the log upon said chain, and means for centering the logon said chain, said means comprising .oppositely disposed members having along their upper portion oppositely disposed beveled faces and supported so as to be capable of movement towards the chain yto lift or push the log centrally by contact ofthe beveled faces therewith to center the log and to recede into non-holding position after-the l'og'is centered, substantially as described. i

4l. The combination,with a. twin band sawmill, of a feed chain operating between the.- saws, means for holding the log to be slabbed upon said chain, vtimbers movable in parallel vertical planes provided upon each side of said chain and adapted tocenter `the log1 thereon, andmechanism for operating said timbers.

5. The .combination= with a twin band -saw mill, of .a feed chain operating between the saws, means for holding a log upon said chain, -a tilting log way provided on the receiving side of said chain, a foot operated mechanism for tiltingsaid log way, a second tilting log way, a toothed lfeed chain operating in the bottomthereof, and a steam oper' ated mechanismfor tilting said second log way,- substantially ,as described.

(5. The combination, with a twin saw mill,

of a feed chain operatingbetween the saws,

l pressure wheel/fs arranged above said chain,

tiii'ibers having beveled inner faces arranged upon each side of said-chain' and pivoted at their outer ends and adapted to receive the log and center. it upon said chain, and a mechanism within control of the operator for tilting the inner ends of said timbers, for the purpose specified,

i 7 The, combination, with a twin band saw mill, of a support arranged between thesaws, a feed chain operating over said support, pressure wheels, provided above said support, timbers 3l having beveled inner faces provided upon each side of said chain and pivotally supported at their outer` ends and adapted to receive a log and center it upon said chain, and mechanism within control of the operator for raising and lowering the inner ends of said timbers, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with a twin saw mill,

A'of a feed chain operating between the saws,

means for holding a log upon said chain, a

log-way pivoted at its outer end andextending'laterally above said feed chain on each side thereof, mechanism for tilting said log- .waya' second lognvay pivoted ,at its inner end near the pivot of said iirst named way, a feed chain operating in the bottom of said second log way, and a steam operated mechanism for raising and lowering the free end of said second log-way.

9. The combinatiomwith a twin saw mill, of a feed chain operating between the saws, means for holding a logupon said chain, a second feed chain, timbers having beveled inner faces provided uponeach side of'said 'second chain antdpivoted near their. inner ends, and a mechanism within control of the oiierator for tilting said timbers 'to center the log on said second feed chain,`substan tially described.

10. The combination, with a twin sawmill, of a feed chain operating between be saws, means for holding the log therein., a second feed chain, a log-way movable in parallel vertical planes extending upon each side and above said second feed chain, and mechanism within control of the operator for operating said logway.

11. The combination, with a twin band saw mill, of an I-beam arranged between the saws, a feed chain operating over said beam, pressure wheels provided above said beam. log way provided upon each side of said chain and pivotally supported at one end and adapted to receive a log and center it upon said chain, and mechanism within con trol of the operator for raising-and lowering the free end of said way, substantially as described.

tilting said logway to center the log on said chain. l

. 14. The combination, with a twin sau mill, of a pivoted log-way, a feed chain operating'in the bottom of said way and he tween said saws, means for holding the log to beslabbed upon said chain, aseeond 10g way, also pivoted, a second feed chain operating therein, and mechanism within control of the operator for tilting said log-way to center the logs therein, substantially as described.

15. The combination with a twin saw mill,

vof a log-way, a feed chain operating in the bottom of said log-way and between the twin saws, means for holding the log to be slabbed upon said chain, and mechanism within control of the operator for raising saidlogway to center the log on said chain.

our liands, this 16. The combination with 'a twin saw mill, of a feed chain opeljating between the saws, means for holding a 10g thereon, a second feed chain, a log-way in which said seond feed chain operates, and mechanism'forlraisf 

